A Wolf in the Garden

Lost Moon: Unravelling Monsters Universe, Book 1

By: Allegra Hall

Narrated by: Ali Jaynes, Drew Mehrtens

Ellie never expected to see him again.

Two years after the Unravelling revealed monsters and their hidden realm to the world, garden designer Ellie Harding seems to have her life together, living out her cottagecore dreams on the picturesque island of Motuwai, New Zealand.

What she never expected was for Van Livingston, the wealthy American she grew up with every summer, to walk back into her life nine years after a tragic event destroyed their romantic relationship. What's more, it turns out Van is a wolf—a hybrid werewolf/wolf-shifter, to be exact—with two wolves and two wolf forms. He's just as handsome as ever, and without the glamour, his gold eyes and towering height have her feeling hot and bothered all over again.

Van was her first love, and she could never blame him for how things ended… but that doesn't mean Ellie's ready to take him back. She has her own problems to sort out, including a secret that's been eating away at her.

Van's wolves know that she's his mate.

He wasn't supposed to find Ellie yet. After breaking away from his father's pack, Van's plan involved settling into his newly purchased vineyard on the island of Motuwai. Only then did he plan on tracking Ellie down—to apologize, grovel, and beg for her forgiveness.

But the moment he scents her in the unlikeliest of places, he's done for. His wolves won't let it go—Ellie is his fated mate—and this time around, he's not going to ruin things.

However, Ellie isn't quite the same woman he used to know, and something sinister has been lurking in the shadows. Van's alpha instincts drive him to protect her, but will it be enough to keep the danger at bay?

A Wolf in the Garden is a first-person, dual-POV novel, and the first in the Unravelling Monsters universe. It is a monster romance that features a female lead of mixed New Zealand European and Māori descent who is not afraid to love her man in both his human and his werewolf form. HEA guaranteed!

©2023 Allegra Hall (P)2024 Podium Audio

Enjoyed it!

Loved the female narrator. She seemed to struggle through the first few spicy scenes, but got the hang of it by the end. The male narrator seemed like an odd choice though... I don't know where he's actually from, but he didn't quite nail a generic American English accent (certain words and vowels just sounded off) *OR* a Kiwi accent. His version of a New Zealander comes across somewhere between South Africa/Afrikaans and a generic UK English accent. Bad enough to distract from my immersion in the story. Ouch.

Enjoyed the story though. A bit unique for this genre. Fun, fresh setting. Good world-building for the first in a new series.

...A little confused by the random foreskin convo in the story though. Like circumcised penises are some great mystery or need special care?? If you need extra lube, you're doing it wrong. :-/

Great start to series

Narration: This is dual narration. Ali Jaynes has an awesome accent that is fun to listen to and Drew Mehrtens has a delicious growl/rasp that made my brain feel warm and fuzzy.

Story: This is the first book in the Unraveling Monsters series. The story is so good and there is plenty of spice. The world building was well done and didn’t feel intrusive to the main plot. I really enjoyed all the nods to Māori culture and customs. The author lives in New Zealand and you can tell they have done their research. I am excited to continue reading this series since the next book isn’t in audiobook yet.

Such a good story!

I was so surprised by how much I loved this. I kept putting off this book for no real reason and I am so sad I had! This is one of my favorites now! It has an interesting twist on the shifter-verse. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Second chance love

Van’s family spent a couple weeks each year in New Zealand near where Ellie lived. For years his family practically adopted her. And then the family quit vacationing near Ellie. Then years later Van shows up again.

I really liked the mix of supernaturals and how Ellie’s Māori background was worked into the story.

Sexy Alpha

Great narration, especially if you like a deep, gravely male voice. Lots of steamy scenes, so prepare yourself for that. Fairly good storyline. Enjoyed the listen!

The female narrator ruined it for me

The story is so good and so is the male narrator but the female narrator was so monotone and wierd it just ruined it, specially in the spicy scenes.

Cute story but plot fell flat

It was a cute story but the plot left you wanting more. The plot feels unfinished but the couples story is. The male narrators voice was overly gravely/growly to the point where it was hard to make out what he was saying at times. It doesn’t make sense to have every word emphasized with a growl.

Jenny…jenny just jenny

I loved the spice it’s like a hot honey spice ya know BUT the varying chapters that bring up jenny and he drowning as a child was to much I understand it’s very sad but the constant reminder THEN spice scene after spice and before she’s mentioned is diabolical. Any other book that deals with this type of trauma and sadness let’s keep it to 2 or 1 chapters. More than 2 is to much.

It had so much potential

Full disclosure, I haven't quite finished the book. The story seems likes it will be interesting but the female narrator is bombing it for me. She's too monotone and makes the MMC sound like a teen. It makes it really weird during the spicy scenes. This actually might be the second book I dnf after MANY books.
Super disappointing because, I love the knot. I really wanted to finish this because the awesome smut.

It was ruined...

The female narrator ruined it for me. She read with no emotion and it just fell flat. The story was just okay. I feel like a better narrator would have made the story come off better. The male narrator was great.